Modern Art in Egypt: Identity and Independence, 1850-1936

Description

Following a spectacular surge in interest for Egyptian masters, Modern Art in Egypt fills the void in Egyptian art history, chronicling the lives and legacies of six pioneering artists working under the British occupation. Using Western-style academic art as a starting point, these artists championed cultural progress, re-appropriating Egyptian visual culture from European orientalists to found a neo-Pharaonic School of Realism. Modern Art in Egypt charts the years from Muhammad Alis educational reforms to the mass influx of foreigners during the nineteenth-century. With a focus on the al-Nahda thought movement, this book provides an overview of the key policy-makers, reformists and feminists who founded the first School of Fine Arts in Egypt, as well as cultural salons, museums and arts collectives. By combining political and aesthetic histories, Fatenn Mostafa breaks the prevailing understanding that has preferred to see non-Western art as derivatives of Western art movements. Modern Art in Egypt re-establishes Egypts presence within the global Modernist canon. Modern Art in Egypt Modern Art in Egypt Contents List of Illustrations Notes on Transliteration and Translation Introduction Part One Reaching for Modernity: A Multicultural Renaissance Chapter One Al-Nahda: The building blocks of a by-product 1.2 Cosmopolitanism and ‘mass media’ Chapter Two Egypt as exhibition 2.1 The art of the Other 2.2 Orientalizing a new industry: Villa Medici, Cercle Artistique and Exposition du Caire Chapter Three Art and Islam Part Two Funun Jamila: A New Social Player Chapter Four Patrons 4.1 The Egyptian School of Fine Arts 4.2 The Société des amis de l’art, the Salon du Caire and the Atelier d’Alexandrie 4.3 La Chimère and the art advocacy group 4.4 Cultural salons and the woman question Chapter Five The state 5.1 Building an infrastructure 5.2 The Museum of Modern Art in Cairo 5.3 Mohammed Mahmoud Khalil and his eponymous museum 5.4 Conclusion Chapter Six The artist 6.1 ‘Egypt for Egyptians’ 6.2 Innovators versus conformists Part Three First-Generation Innovators Chapter Seven Georges Sabbagh (1887-1951): The son of the Orient 7.1 Introduction 7.2 Inner life: La vie intérieure 7.3 Brittany: Angst in front of Nature 7.4 Egypt: The search for roots 7.5 Legacy Chapter Eight Mohamed Naghi (1888-1956): ‘Naghi d’Alexandrie’ 8.1 Introduction 8.2 Early years: In search of an aesthetic language 8.3 Becoming the national painter 8.4 The Abyssinian period 8.5 The larger-than-life narrative period 8.6 Leading the Egyptianization of art institutions 8.7 Legacy Chapter Nine Mahmoud Mokhtar (1891-1934): The hyphen between ancient and modern 9.1 Introduction 9.2 From the village to nationalism 9.3 Ibn al-Balad in Paris 9.4 Fame and controversy 9.5 Legacy Chapter Ten Raghed Ayad (1892-1982): Godfather of the Egyptian gaze 10.1 Introduction 10.2 Pioneer of the Egyptian gaze 10.3 Ayad’s trilogy: Everyday life, popular feasts and religious traditions 10.4 From artist to patron 10.5 Legacy Chapter Eleven Mahmoud Saïd (1897-1964): In search of a ‘happy island’ 11.1 Introduction 11.2 The defining dichotomies in the life and art of Mahmoud Saïd 11.3 Becoming the Oriental lord 11.4 An invitation to the Art and Liberty Group 11.5 Legacy Chapter Twelve Marguerite Nakhla (1908-1977): Life as it should be 12.1 Introduction 12.2 Nakhla’s mosaic of life 12.3 Legacy Conclusion Decoding 1930s Egypt: The seeds of the Naksa Modern Art in Egypt - Historical Timeline from 1850-1935 Notes Bibliography Index